Tonight, On A Very Special Episode When TV Sitcoms Sometimes Got Serious Volume 2: 1986-1998 (hardback)
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Tonight, On A Very Special Episode When TV Sitcoms Sometimes Got Serious Volume 2: 1986-1998 (hardback)

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ISBN  9781629336428

Remember when Dorothy Zbornak found out she was suffering from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome on The Golden Girls? Or when Alex P. Keaton dealt with the death of a friend on Family Ties? Did you know that the dangers of cults featured in episodes of both Charles in Charge and Boy Meets World and that homelessness was the subject for ground breaking episodes of Kate & Allie and Saved by the Bell?

The role of the Very Special Episode was to take a departure from the regular comic stylings of the American TV sitcom and offer a standalone “serious in nature” gesture in addressing subject matter not normally found in such a medium. From amphetamines and molestation on Mr. Belvedere, to AIDS awareness on Designing Women and A Different World and beyond, take an in depth look at a number of Very Special Episodes – from what would be considered the “busiest” period of the phenomenon, with insight from varied historians, critics and individuals who worked on some of the shows. With additional pieces discussing landmark shows, creators as well as non-sitcoms that left a Very Special impression.

 

VOLUME 2 contains:

IT’S LIKE I STARTED BREATHING ON THE NIGHT WE KISSED

Urban Fear from PUNKY BREWSTER 05/01/1986
Bulimia from DIFFR’ENT STROKES 17/01/1986
Cherie Lifesaver from PUNKY BREWSTER 19/01/1986
Wesley’s Friend from MR. BELVEDERE 31/01/1986
Adult Education from THE GOLDEN GIRLS 22/02/1986
Front Page, The from DIFF’RENT STROKES 07/03/1986
Accidents Happen from PUNKY BREWSTER 09/03/1986
Chewed Out from SMALL WONDER 13/09/1986
Grandma from MR. BELVEDERE 03/10/1986
For Your Eyes Only from ALF 03/11/1986

Golden girls isn’t it romantic 8 11 1986

Pills from MR. BELVEDERE 12/12/1986
Bad Timing from VALERIE 08/02/1987
Thank God It’s Friday from GROWING PAINS 10/02/1987
Competition, The from MR. BELVEDERE 13/02/1987
Caught Red Handed from NIGHT COURT 26/02/1987
Baby from MR. BELVEDERE 06/03/1987
‘A’ My Name Is Alex from FAMILY TIES 12/03/1987
Dorothy’s Prized Pupil from THE GOLDEN GIRLS 14/03/1987
Auction, The from MR. BELVEDERE 15/05/1987
Woodward and Bernstein from SMALL WONDER 12/09/1987
Old Friends from THE GOLDEN GIRLS 19/09/1987
Burned Out from THE HOGAN FAMILY 05/10/1987
Killing All the Right People from DESIGNING WOMEN 05/10/1987
Sexual Harassment in Chicago from PERFECT STRANGERS 07/10/1987
Brother Can You Spare A Dime from KATE & ALLIE 19/10/1987
Letter to Gorbachev from GOLDEN GIRLS 31/10/1987
Heart Attacks from DESIGNING WOMEN 09/11/1987
Alf’s X-Mas Special from ALF 14/12/1987
You Better Watch Out from MARRIED WITH CHILDREN 20/12/1987
Dorothy’s New Friend from THE GOLDEN GIRLS 16/01/1988
First Time, The from FACTS OF LIFE 06/02/1988
Read It and Weep from FAMILY TIES 07/02/1988
Heather’s Monk from MR. BELVEDERE 11/03/1988
Counsellor, The from MR. BELVEDERE 06/05/1988
XXXXX Punky’s Dilemma from PUNKY BREWSTER 25/05/1988
Mission to Moscow from HEAD OF THE CLASS 02/11/1988
Brother Can You Spare That Jacket from THE GOLDEN GIRLS 03/12/1988
Heartstrings from FAMILY TIES 04/12/1988
Scared Straight from THE GOLDEN GIRLS 10/12/1988
My Phoney Valentine from MAMA’S FAMILY 18/02/1989
High Anxiety from THE GOLDEN GIRLS 25/03/1989
No Means No from A DIFFERENT WORLD 30/03/1989
A Life in the Day from EMPTY NEST 01/04/1989
Second Chance from GROWING PAINS 12/04/1989
Still At Large from CHARLES IN CHARGE 29/04/1989
Curing the Common Cult from CHARLES IN CHARGE 24/05/1989
Sick and Tired from THE GOLDEN GIRLS 23/09/1989
Accurate Conception from THE GOLDEN GIRLS 14/10/1989
Not Another Monday from THE GOLDEN GIRLS 11/11/1989
Homecoming from MR. BELVEDERE 18/11/1989
They Shoot Fat Women, Don’t They? from DESIGNING WOMEN 11/12/1989


THANK YOU FOR BEING A FRIEND

First Day of the Last Decade of the Entire Twentieth Century, The from DESIGNING WOMEN 01/01/1990
Pride and Prejudice from A DIFFERENT WORLD 25/01/1990
Like the Beep Beep of the Tom Tom from THE GOLDEN GIRLS 10/02/1990
A World Alike from A DIFFERENT WORLD 15/02/1990
72 Hours from THE GOLDEN GIRLS 17/02/1990
All Bets Are Off from THE GOLDEN GIRLS 28/04/1990
Operation Mona from WHO’S THE BOSS? 13/10/1990
Mistaken Identity from FRESH PRINCE OF BEL AIR, THE 15/10/1990
Jessie’s Song from SAVED BY THE BELL 03/11/1990
Shape Up from FULL HOUSE 09/11/1990
XXXXXX Just Another Pretty Face from THE MUNSTERS 17/11/1990
Running Zack from SAVED BY THE BELL 24/11/1990
Best of Friends, Worst of Times from THE HOGAN FAMILY 01/12/1990
It’s Just A Joke from NIGHT COURT 14/12/1990
There’s Always Room For Cello from WINGS 14/12/1990
Blossom Blossoms from Blossom 03/01/1991
Sister of the Bride from THE GOLDEN GIRLS 12/01/1991
Sex, Lies and Teenagers from BLOSSOM 04/02/1991
Life of the Party from FAMILY MATTERS 08/02/1991
Ms. Understanding from A DIFFERENT WORLD 28/02/1991
Fight the Good Fight from FAMILY MATTERS 01/03/1991
If I Should Die Before I Wake from A DIFFERENT WORLD 11/04/1991
I Never Ate For My Father from DINOSAURS 02/09/1991
Darlene Fades To Black from ROSEANNE 08/10/1991
Intervention from BLOSSOM 04/11/1991
No Hope With Dope from SAVED BY THE BELL 30/11/1991
Guess Who’s Coming To Brunch from CALIFORNIA DREAMS 26/10/1992
Screaming Passages from DESIGNING WOMEN 30/10/1992
Virgin Territory from STEP BY STEP 20/11/1992
Crime and Punishment from ROSEANNE 05/01/1993
Steroids to Heaven from DINOSAURS 12/02/1993
Silence is not Golden from FULL HOUSE 16/02/1993
A New Leash on Life from THE GOLDEN PALACE 02/04/1993
Conduct Unbecoming from MAJOR DAD 02/04/1993
Hunger from BLOSSOM 10/05/1993
Slater’s War from SAVED BY THE BELL THE COLLEGE YEARS 28/09/1993
Fast Friends from FULL HOUSE 12/10/1993
38 Special from BLOSSOM 25/10/1993


AND IN MY OPINIONATION, THE SUN IS GONNA SURELY SHINE

Meat from BLOSSOM 24/01/1994
Last Dance, The from FULL HOUSE 08/02/1994
Papa’s Got A Brand New Excuse from THE FRESH PRINCE OF BEL AIR 09/05/1994
Changing Nature from DINOSAURS 20/07/1994
White Men Can't Kiss from ROSEANNE 16/11/1994
Bullets Over Bel Air from THE FRESH PRINCE OF BEL AIR 06/02/1995
XXXXXXXDate, The from BLOSSOM 27/02/1995
Dangerous Secret from BOY MEETS WORLD 08/11/1996
Cult Fiction from BOY MEETS WORLD 25/04/1997
What A Drag from HOME IMPROVEMENT 24/02/1998